Panel switch



May 10, 1955 G. E. FITZGERALD 2,708,225

PANEL SWITCH Filed Aug. l, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I5 if l ,4 TTORNEY May10, 1955 G. E. FITZGERALD 2,708,225

PANEL SWITCH Filed Aug. l, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY 0mm ,I TTOR NE YUnited States Patent O PANEL SWITCH George E. Fitzgerald, Stratford,Conn.

Application August 1, 1952, Serial No. 302,190 s claims. (el. zoo-154)The invention herein disclosed relates to switches of the panelboardtype, in which switch and fuse elements are mounted on insulating baseswhich can be secured over the bus-bars'to constitute the completepanelboard, the whole usually contained in a wall cabinet or box.

Objects of the invention are to provide a switch unit of simple,practical, low cost construction which without sacrifice of strength,current carrying capacity or desirable operating features, will requirebut a minimum of insulation and metal, and in which the insulating baseand the metal parts will be of simple, one-piece construction andquickly and easily assembled.

Special objects of the invention are to provide a quiet acting switchstructure, with positive circuit opening action, insuring againstburning or welding of contacts.

Further objects or' the invention are to provide a simple, inexpensiveform of toggle mechanism for actuating the switch, consisting of thefewest possible nurnber of parts and attording direct positive actionbetween the actuating toggle lever and switch contact.

Other special objects of the invention are to provide a panel switchsuch as indicated, in which the parts will all be compactly arranged andthe switch as a whole, oi relatively small size and thus adapted for usewhere space is limited.

Other desirable objects and the novel features through which thepurposes of the invention are attained are set forth or will appear inthe course of the following specification.

The drawings accompanying and forming part of the specificationillustrate a present commercial embodiment of the invention. Structure,however, may be modied and changed as regards the immediateillustration, all within the true intent and scope of the invention ashereinafter defined and claimed.

Fig. 1 in the drawings is a plan view of one of the panelboard switchunits;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view as on substantiallythe plane of line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the device;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional View as on substantially the plane of line5-5 of Fig. 3;

Figs. 6 and 7 are broken cross sectional details as on substantially theplane of line 6 6 of Fig. 4, illustrating the action of the togglesprings for holding the toggle levers in place in their open bearingsand. for snapping these levers past dead center in opposite directions;

Figs. 8 and 9 are perspective views of the companion switch contacts.

The base of the device is shown as an elongated block of insulatingmaterial molded or otherwise formed as a hollow shell having integrallyconnected top land side walls 10 and 11. Y

The sides of these blocks are notched as indicated at 12, 13, toaccommodate the bus-bars 14, 15, over which these panel switches areapplied, the bases being secured 2,708,225 Patented May 10, 1955 in thisrelation by screws 16 extended through the top or' the base into screwseats provided in the buses.

Additionally, the switch base is shown as having screw seats 17 in theends of the same for screws which may be used for securing the block tothe back of the cabinet or other structure in which the switch panel ismounted.

The unit shown is for the control of four fused circuits and thereforecomprises four switches independently operable by projecting togglelevers 1S and connected with adjoining fuse sockets.

The toggle levers 18 are shown as projecting up through motion limitingslots 19 in the top wall of the base and as having transverselyprojecting trunnions 20, 21, at opposite sides of the same, engaged inopen bearings 22, 23, in the underside of the top wall at opposite sidesof the slots 19.

The levers are pressed upwardly in these open bearings by helicalsprings 24 engaged at their upper ends over downwardly projecting studs25 on the trunnion elements 20 and supported at their lower ends on theangled lugs 26 at the ends of supporting brackets 27 secured to theunderside of the top wall by screws 28.

lt will be noted in Figs. 6 and 7 that the lugs 26 support the togglesprings 24 directly beneath the trunnion bearings 22, so that thesesprings will operate with toggle action to snap the levers 18 in togglefashion in opposite directions past dead center.

These toggle springs are strong enough to hold the toggle levers solidlyin their bearings, as shown in Fig. 5, and in addition, to serve asspring toggles for shifting and then holding the levers rocked to theextreme positions indicated in Figs. 6 and 7.

The inner projecting ends 29 of the toggle levers are rounded andpositioned to operate with toggle action over the spring contacts 30.

These contacts are shown in Fig. 3 as having upwardly angled bends 31disposed to cooperate with the ends of the levers as spring toggles, anddownwardly angled bends 32 disposed to afford clearance for the innerends of the levers.

These two conditions are illustrated in Fig. 3, the toggle lever 18 atthe left standing in the on or closed circuit position with the innerend 29 of the same in line with the depression 32 and entirely free ofthe contact e spring, and the toggle lever at the right swung over thehump 31 with the point 39 of the leverserving as a toggle hoiding thespring contact depressed in open circuit position.

Companion switch contacts are arranged in pairs to cooperate each pairwith a pair of the movable spring contacts described.

Each stationary Contact is made with a fiat base portion 33 pinned orotherwise secured at 34, over the underside of the base in position tooverlie and be engaged by a bus-bar, this portion having an opening 35for free passage of the screw 16 secured in the bus-bar. The tighteningof these screws thus effects solid mechanical and electrical connectionbetween the bus-bars and these stationary contacts. y

From the at base portion 33 an upright leg 36 is extended, carrying atransverse T-head portion 37 having Contact points 38 at the oppositeends of the same in line with contact points 39 on the ends of twoadjoining spring contacts Sil.

The clamping of the stationary contacts in place by the bus-bar securingscrews 1 6 also has the eect of holding these contacts 33 solidly inplace against the base, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, with the contactpoints 38 carried thereby properly aligned with contact points 39 of themovable spring contacts 30.

VThe spring contacts 30 are shown in Fig. 9 as having transverselyelongated T-head base portions 40 to iit in correspondingly .shapedpositioning seats 41 in the underside .of the hase and with laterally.offset ,openings 42 for passage of screws 4,3 from the fuse socketsiuto clamp plates 46 underlying these base portions.

The screws 43 .constitute the center terminals of -the fuse sockets .andthus serve to pass current .from the springcontacts up to the centercontacts of the fuses.

The shell terminals 44 of the fuse sockets have terminal lug extensions45 exposed at the ends of .the switch block.

rlie fuse sockets are thus directly connected with the switches inimmediately adjoining relation and 'with the shortest possibleelectrical .connecting means.

The .spring contacts of the Vswitches may. be of bronze strip stock orthe like and the reverse V-.bends 3i and 32 may he put into `4them in aYsirnple die operation. The bend `2,2 4may be deeper than -the bend 31.to assure ample clearance between the end .of the togglev lever and thespring contact Vwhen thespring contact Vstands in the closed circuit:position shown at Vthe left in Fig. 3.

The angle or bend 31 may be relatively shallow since it merely provides.a hump over which the inner end of the toggle lever may pass .as a deadvcenter point to provide a toggle locking action, as shown at the rightin Fig. 3.

With this construction the .contact springs thus act as spring toggles,assisting the toggle springs 24 in holding the toggle levers in the oifor open circuit position.V

The .stamped electrical parts are .all small, simple, onepiece items andthe insulating base isr a light weight, thin walled hollow shell.containing a minimum amount of insulating material.

The parts are quickly and easily assembled and Vthe securing of the base.on the bus-bars connects the .unit in place and rrnly holds thestationary switch contacts .in position where they will properlycooperate with the movable switch contacts.

The compact relation of parts 4and their small size keeps the iinishedarticle down to .minimum dimensions, making its use possiblewherespaceis limited. Thiscompactness permits close spacing of busesand small sizeWall cabinets. All this contributes to low =cost Aand a special featurein .thisrespect is the complete interchangeability and reversi- Y bilityof parts.

toggle levers canl be interchangeably used in all four n locations on.the switch base. The spring contacts may be interchangeably used ateither side or end lof the base. the perforated T-.head structure dll,as shown in Fig. 4, permitting use at either side or either end of theblock', one of the openings, 42, in either event lining up with .thecenter Contact screw 43 of one of the fuse sockets, Yand the flat clampplate 46 with the single screw opening 47 being reversibly engageable,end-for-end over the basfevof the'contact spring to locate the screwseat in line with the center securing screw 43.

The stationary Spanner Contact lwhich carries the contact points -38 fortwo adjoining switches, 'like the spring contact, may be made up as asingle piece of strip material.

A neutral terminal barffor the four circuits may be mounted on theswitch base, as shown at 48, Figsfl and 4, by `means of a screw 49passed down through the top of the base into a mounting lug Sil attachedto the bar.

- The .invention avoids the Yneed for pivot pins and other such parts.The ltoggle springs 24, in addition Vto Vholding the finger leversseated in vtheir open bearings,

operate to ysnap these levers over into position fully clear of thecontact springs when these levers are shifted in the switch'closingdirection. This assures `that the levers will vbe free of the contactsprings when the switches are closed, as at the left in Fig. 3. Snapaction of the switch throwing levers in :the opposite, `circuit openingdirection is assured by the inner ends of the levers riding over theinclined toggle forming 'humps 31 on the contact springs, .as at theright in Fig. 3, the conta-ct springs'and toggle springs thus assistingeach other in this instanc and assuring positive., 4switch openingaction.

What is claimed is:

l. A panel switch comprising a one-piece hollow insulating base havingintegrally connected top and side Walls, said top Wall having slotstherethrough and open bearing seats in the underside of the same atopposite sides of said slots, toggle Vlevers projecting through saidslots and having trunnions at opposite sides of the same engaged in said'open 4bearing seats, toggle springs engaged with the trunnions of saidlevers and holding the same journaledin said seats,rsu'bstantiallystraight dat Contact springs secured on .the underside of said top Walland having shoulders inclined toward and engageable by the inner ends ofsaid toggle 'levers and V-shaped end portions inclined away from anddisposed to be clear of the inner ends of the toggle levers andrelatively stationary contacts mounted on the underside of the base inposition to be engaged .by theends of said spring contacts when thetoggle levers are in .position with the inner ends of the same in linewith the V-shaped depressions'therein and to be separated from said:spring contacts when the inner ends of said toggle levers are engagedover said rst mentioned inclined shoulders.

2. A panel switch :comprising a Vone-piece hollow insulating base havingintegrally connected top and side walls, said topY wail lhaving slotstherethrough and open bearing seats in the underside of the saine at.opposite sides of said slots, toggle levers projecting through saidslots and having -trunnions at opposite sides of the same engaged insaid open bearing seats, toggle springs zengaged with :the trunnions ofsaid levers and holding the same journaled in said seats, substantiallystraight ilat Contact springs secured on the underside of said .top walland having shoulders :inclined toward and engageable by the inner endsof said toggle levers and V-shaped end portions inclined away from anddisposed to be clear ot' the inner 4ends of the toggle levers andrelatively stationary contacts mounted on the underside of the base inposition to be engaged vby the ends of said spring contacts when thetoggle levers are in position Iwith the inner ends of the sante in linewith the bshaped depressions therein and to be separated from saidspring contacts when the Ainner ends of said ltoggle levers are engagedover said first mentioned inclined shoulders, Y

said spring contacts being arranged in pairs'and there being a singlestationary contact between the spring contacts of Veach pair and being.branched laterally into cooperative relation with said springcontacts.V

3. A panel switch comprising a -onepicce hollow inr sulating base havingYVintegrally connected top and lside walls, Vsaid top wall 'having slotstherethrough and open Y nearing seats in the underside of the saine atopposite sides of said slots, toggle levers projecting through saidslots and having trunnions at opposite sides of the same engaged in saidopen bearing seats, toggle springs .engaged'with the trunnioes `or said'levers and holding the same 4journaled in said sea-ts, substantiallystraight at i contact springs secured on the underside .of sai-d topwall and Vhaving shoulders inclined `toward and .engageable by the innerends of said toggle Alevers and V-Shaped end portions inclined away.from .and disposed to the clear of the inner ends -of the toggle levers:and relatively stationary contacts mounted on the underside of the basein-pos'ition to ibe engaged by therenrds of saitl spring contacts whenthe toggle levers are in position with the inner ends of the same inline with the V-shaped depressions therein and to oe separated from saidIspring contacts when the inner ends of said toggle 'levers are engagedover said `first mentioned incl-ined shoulders, said stationary Vcontacthaving a dat portion exposed at the underside lof the oase forengagement over a busbar and having contact points spaced intocooperative relation with Vadjoining pairs of the spring contacts.

4. A panel switch comprising a switch hase having @Joanne slotstherethrough and open bearings at the underside of the base adjoiningsaid slots, toggle levers projecting through said slots and havingtrunnions engaged in said open bearings, toggle springs holding saidtoggle levers engaged in said open hearings and switch Contact springshaving toggle engagement with the inner ends of said toggle levers,including inclined humps on said switch Contact springs over which theinner ends of the toggle levers may ride in the travel of the togglelevers in one direction, and said Contact springs further havingV-shaped depressions spaced from said humps to afford clearance betweenthe inners ends of the toggle levers and the Contact springs in thereverse position of said toggle levers.

5. A panel switch comprising a spring contact and a relativelystationary Contact engageable thereby, said spring contact having aninclined hump and a V-shaped depression adjoining the same, a hasemounting said contacts, said base having a bearing open toward saidspring contact, a toggle lever proieeting rom the base and having atrunnion seated in said open bearing and aving a rounded inner endslidingly engageable over said spring contact, a toggle spring holdingsaid toggle lever seated in said open bearing and operable to rock saidlever past dead center in opposite directions and said lever positionedto have the inner end of the same in line with said V-shaped depressionand clear of the spring Contact in the engaged, closed circuit positionsof the contacts and to ride over said inclined hump past dead centerrelation in movement of the lever in the opposite, switch openingoperation.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,883,126 Tregoning Oct. 18, 1932 2,269,171 Benander Ian. 6, 19422,352,936 Bryant July 4, 1944 2,626,335 Landin Ian. 20, 1953

